‎NITDA Seeks Digital Skills Drive, Says AI-Ready Civil Service Key to Public Sector Reforms‎‎

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• ‎By Chimezie Godfrey
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• ‎The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has stressed that Nigeria’s drive towards digital transformation and the adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in governance will only succeed with a digitally skilled and innovation-driven public sector workforce.
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• ‎The Director General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, made this known during a Digital Skills Masterclass organised by the Agency in collaboration with Meta for selected officers from Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). He was represented by the Director of Digital Development Services, Olawumi Dejo.
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• ‎According to Inuwa, Nigeria’s ambition to build a thriving digital economy depends on civil servants acquiring the digital competencies required to embrace emerging technologies and improve public service delivery.
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• ‎He said the Agency developed the National Digital Literacy Framework (NDLF) to provide a standardised roadmap for digital skills development, ensuring that Nigerians acquire globally relevant competencies tailored to local realities.
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• ‎”The framework focuses on six core competency areas, including device and software operations, information and data literacy, digital content creation, communication and collaboration, digital safety, and problem-solving,” he said.
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• ‎He explained that equipping public servants with these competencies would enhance their ability to leverage digital technologies, protect government information, strengthen collaboration across MDAs and improve service delivery.
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• ‎The NITDA boss emphasised that technology alone cannot drive institutional reforms without corresponding investments in human capacity.
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• ‎> “Technology alone cannot transform institutions. Real transformation happens when people acquire the right digital skills to rethink processes, improve productivity and deliver better outcomes,” he said.
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• ‎Inuwa urged civil servants to embrace lifelong learning, noting that rapid advances in Artificial Intelligence and other emerging technologies require continuous upskilling and reskilling.
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• ‎He also encouraged participants to become champions of digital transformation by transferring the knowledge acquired during the masterclass to colleagues within their organisations through a train-the-trainer model.
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• ‎The Director General disclosed that NITDA, in partnership with the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, has already trained over 53,000 civil servants in digital skills, describing the achievement as a significant milestone in building an AI-ready and digitally competent public service.
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• ‎He assured participants that the Agency would continue to expand digital capacity-building initiatives to support ongoing government reforms and position Nigeria to maximise opportunities in the digital economy.
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• ‎Speaking at the event, Meta’s Public Policy Manager for Anglophone West Africa, Victoria Oloni, reaffirmed the company’s commitment to supporting Nigeria’s digital transformation agenda through its partnership with NITDA.
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• ‎Oloni observed that the increasing use of digital tools across government—from electronic salary payments to official communication through digital platforms—demonstrates that the public service is steadily transitioning from analogue to digital operations.
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• ‎She, however, stressed that the next phase should focus on institution-wide digital transformation rather than isolated technology adoption.
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• ‎”Digital transformation is a continuous journey that requires sustained learning, collaboration and openness to innovation,” she said.
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• ‎According to Oloni, the Digital Skills Masterclass was designed to equip participants with practical knowledge to harness digital technologies for improved communication, operational efficiency and better service delivery across Ministries, Departments and Agencies.
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• ‎She urged participants to maximise the opportunity provided by the training, noting that a digitally empowered workforce is critical to building a more efficient, responsive and citizen-centred public service.
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• ‎The Digital Skills Masterclass forms part of NITDA’s implementation of the National Digital Literacy Framework and its broader strategy to strengthen the human capital needed to drive Nigeria’s digital economy.

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